I have never studied the Greek philosophers in any depth, so I am not sure which of them will be turning most in their graves at the current Greek crisis, particularly with regard to the fact that modern Greece, and the acute dilemma it now faces, is the product of the very people who are now acidly chastising it.

Emerging from the throngs of the Ottoman Empire, modern Greece — romanticised as the cradle of Western civilisation — was re-embraced into the Western sphere and pampered by other Europeans and the Americans. This “idolisation” of the Pantheon, combined with the fact of its strategic geographic position — as part of the crossroads for the trade routes between East and West — caused a wash of capital to swirl along its Aegean shores during the mid to late 20th century.

Added to those boons, there was the racist/imperialist factor that, although Egypt was the site of the Suez Canal, the country was not regarded as fit to be the registration host for the tremendous number of shipping vessels and pleasure crafts which plied through the canal or swanked around the Mediterranean. That prestigious role fell to the Pantheon.

Explicitly, the reknown Greek islands and their Aegean surrounds became the wild playground for the idle rich and famous from the world over, as well as grafting their own home-grown Ari Onassises.

Modern Greece, therefore, evolved as largely a tax haven, or more precisely a low-tax state, which could not long support its expenses (simply because its population is larger than the Caymans), and consequently had to borrow heavily over the years to support its consumption habits.

And, as is characteristic of the oligarchic “wasters”, the extravagant fashion was only deemed a travesty and became a problem when the Greek masses began copying the blueprint lifestyle of bask and idleness, with the resulting tax-evasion culture, early retirement structure, etc.

The plebs were, of course, “living above their means” — How dare they? And the Greek tycoons have since lost their lustre, as the Dubais and Singapores emerged, so they must now be taxed. Not to mention the Greek banks, which had the audacity to become a major haven for Russian money.

The axe-bearing Northern tribesmen (and women) who had plundered and evolved as oligarchs are, of course, the main creditors from across the EU and the rest of global Wall Street. So they are as mad as hell that the rest of us (Greeks) are daring to so cavalierly enjoy their largely “dirty money”.

Let me not overlook the fact that they do have other working-class Europeans and the rest of the Global “lesser peoples” busting butts to satisfy their greedy appetites. Skilfully, these oligarchs have managed to get working-class Europeans to echo their chants that the Greek masses are at fault, and supporters like Ralston Hyman continue tooting from the wrong end that that’s the nature of the game.

Using a similar Argentine situation, it has always amazed me that these creditors, who trenchantly like to assess and hold up the factor of “risk” in their ratings agencies, have never accepted the prospect of losses against those risks.

That sort of acceptance would have allowed for discounting accommodation (“haircuts”) by these creditors, to help forge a more amenable restructuring of the Greek debt. As observed, that indebtedness was effectively caused by a naïve populace and successive Greek governments imbibing and mirroring the boastful culture of idleness and extravagance by the world’s rich and famous who skip from one paradise to the next.

Does that scenario sound familiar? Yeah! We have significantly copied this profligate “beyond our means” lifestyle here in Jamaica (supported by public policy), that has placed us in a similar dire situation.

But if some think that the Trojan Horse was a fable, then let them just wait until embattled Greek nationalism festers into extremism. As history will wisely tell, extremism — especially resulting from undue constraints — is the spark for all “terrorism” and conflagrations.

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